»06/27/2012MONGOLIAMongolia to vote: economy and welfare at stakeThe main challengers are the center-right Democratic Party and former communists of the People’s Party. DP ahead after campaign focusing on light fiscal policy in support of organizations and private businesses. The President, a Democrat, also wants control of Parliament. The mining industries are waiting with bated breath.

Ulaan Baatar (AsiaNews) - Mongolia is getting ready for tomorrow's general election, when the People's Party (formerly Communist Party) will challenge the Democratic Party to maintain its supremacy in Parliament. At stake is not only the executive but also a large part of the country's economic development: the "popular" because they want to overturn a law imposed by President Tsakhia Elbegdor (Democrat), which requires executive control over all transactions above 75 million dollars.

At the moment the People's part are at a distinct disadvantage. A poll puts them 14 percentage points below the challengers: 42 percent of Mongolians has declared Democrat, while only 28 expressed sympathy for former communists. In fact 70 years of communist rule in the country that proved disasterous for the economy weighs heavily: the center-right Democrats argue for low taxes and full support to industries and private businesses.

In this sense, the June 28 elections are critical to the mining sector giants: foreign investment in the sector, which represents 62 percent of national GDP, came to 8 billion dollars last year alone

The President Elbegdor, in an interview with the Financial Times, has expressed readiness to receive suggestions for improving the law on the control of the money coming in, but added that "we must avoid the risk of corruption due to the high circulation of money and the great interests at stake. " The mining companies also fear a period of uncertainty after the parliamentary elections in 2008 because the election without a clear winner set off protests in the capital.

EGYPT - ISLAMWhat Tayeb and Sisi said is big step towards a revolution in Islamby Samir Khalil SamirThe grand imam of Al-Azhar slammed literalist interpretations of the Qur'an and the Sunnah, as fundamentalists and Islamic terrorists do. He supports the urgent need for Islam's reform, especially in terms of teaching lay people and clerics. He also calls for an end to mutual excommunication (takfir) between Sunnis and Shias. Egyptian President al-Sisi chose to fight the Islamic state group after it beheaded 21 Coptic Christians, whom he called "Egyptian citizens" with full rights.

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